NEW permanent migration to OECD countries fell by 4% in 2024, following three years of significant increases. Despite the drop, the total of 6.2 million new permanent immigrants remains relatively high, at 15% above 2019 levels, according to a new OECD report.

The International Migration Outlook 2025 shows that, from 2023 to 2024, permanent migration declined by 56% in New Zealand and 41% in the United Kingdom, and by more than 10% also in Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Norway, Slovenia, the Slovak Republic and Sweden.

In contrast, in 2024, permanent migration increased by 20% in the United States, driven by humanitarian flows. Increases of more than 5% were also registered in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czechia, Ireland and Japan.

Family reunification remained the leading reason for permanent migration to OECD countries, while labour migration declined.

“Migration flows to OECD countries help address labour shortages and support the resilience of OECD economies. Effective migration policies are needed to manage associated pressures on public services and facilitate labour market integration of new arrivals,” OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said, presenting the report in Brussels alongside European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner. “The large labour earnings gaps of immigrants compared with native-born workers highlight the importance of streamlining assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications, and of optimising policies that support language acquisition, job search, and skills development.”

Acquisitions of citizenship in OECD countries were at historically high levels in 2024, approaching 3 million. Germany granted citizenship to 290 000 foreign residents and the United Kingdom to 270 000, a record for both countries.

The number of new asylum seekers to OECD countries continued to increase and was the highest on record, with 3.1 million new applications registered across OECD countries in 2024, up by 13% relative to 2023. In countries where the number of new asylum seekers decreased, they often remained at relatively high levels. Top origin countries of applicants included Venezuela, Colombia and Syria.

The employment rate of adult immigrants stood at 70.9% last year across OECD countries, slightly below the 72.1% rate for the native-born population. For immigrant women, employment rates increased in two-thirds of OECD countries, reaching 63.5%.

New analysis in the report on the role of firms in the integration of immigrant workers reveals that, in the first year after entering the host country labour market, immigrants earn 34% less than native-born workers of the same age and gender, on average across the 15 countries covered. However, over time the earnings gap shrinks and after 5 years of stay in the host country it reaches 21%. Although immigrants move on average to better-paying firms over time, most wage progression takes place within firms.

The Outlook also analyses the role of migration in supporting health workforce development in OECD countries. In 2020-2021, there were 830 000 foreign-born doctors and 1.75 million foreign-born nurses working in the 30 OECD countries with available data, representing respectively 22% and 17% of the workforce. Continued progress is needed to streamline procedures, which are often still lengthy and complex, for assessing and recognising foreign qualifications of health professionals.